I BC'd in June 2011 and I am so frustrated. My hair just doesn't seem like it grew well at least in its natural curl pattern. I do 2 strand twist and twist outs but because my hair is so tightly coiled it always looks so short. I blew my hair out a few weeks ago to see if it grew which it did but with my round face my natural curls look horrible on me. I love being natural because my hair is much healthier but my length is driving me nuts. Is there a way to stretch my curl?

In addition, and it may be because I'm stressed and unconsciously playing with my hair but how do I fix thinning edges. I had this problem before and this is when I first started in the summer. My hair retains moisture better during this season and I had a perfect summer regime which helped my hair in that area. Unfortunately I haven't got my winter regime down yet. Can't find the right products. My hair is surviving all but my edges. HELP!

I'm sure I have biased eyes, but I've never seen a woman that didn't look good with her natural hair. That's just crazy to me. Like a person saying they don't look good with their natural skin Wha?

Anyhoo, shrinkage is a fact of natural life. You can constantly wear twist outs (which will give your hair the appearance of elongation) or you can learn to love all the characteristics of your natural hair. Including shrinkage.

I too have a round head, so I definitely know how you feel about having short hair. Just be patient, in a few months you will probably find the head to hair proportion more to your liking. If you like to keep your hiar stretched, I suggest investing in some curlformers. Yes, they are pricey but it's better for your hair than blowdrying. Twist your hair, then apply the curlformer. They will give your twist-outs even more elongation.

Be very careful with your edges. Try not to slick them back with too much tension when you wear puffs. Relaxers almost ruined my edges, but with time they have grown back. Just be patient with this as well. HTH

“Hair grows faster in warm weather. I’ve researched this, and can’t find a good explanation as to why this is so. ”
In response to this, I have my own working explanation which is more than likely 80% incorrect but bear with me.
We know our hair loves humidity (nappy hair) because it helps keep our moisture level up and will swell you hair cuticle. Now in the climate I’m from (Jamaica) it is HOT for 9 months out of the year, warm for 1 and slightly cooler in February. With that much warmth surrounding a scalp on a daily basis it opens follicles and helps to stimulate said follicles (much like peppermint, eucalyptus, etc.).
That stimulation helps boost the productivity level of our follicles helping with the growth. Cold weather always closes my follicles tighter than a black power fist and slows my progress down tremendously and the only thing I have found that helps in the cooler US winters is a humidifier from Wal Mart for about $20. I use it at night when I sleep and it works great for my skin also. Nothing will suck the moisture out of your hair and skin like “dry” cold and heat.
Now this is not true for all people and it also depends what the heat quality is during the warm period. In the desert areas where the climate is a “dry” heat, it can be detrimental to your hair because it dries your hair out and there is no humidity (aka moisture) to help with the checks and balances.
Visit Grow Your Hair Back for additional info.

Girl I have a big head and I can relate to the short hair blues! LoL! But just hang in there. It does get better, and most of the time it just HAPPENS and you're like "Wow. Where'd this beautiful mane come from?"

Ichief that makes so much sense!!! I feel like my hair grows soooo much in the summer && the minute winter comes it's like it completely stops :-/ I always feel like I'm forcing it to catch up to the reg summer growth

How short did you cut your hair to? You're already thinking about texturizing (yeah, I saw that in the 4a forum), and you're only six months in, which leads me to wonder about your motivations for going natural and what your expectations were.

A lot of people who want to show length but don't want to use heat stretch their hair prior to styling, whether it be through banding or braiding, or whatever. But AmberBrown is right, shrinkage does come with being natural, especially a tightly curled natural, and I think your expectations on what was "supposed" to happen may have been a bit unrealistic. Good luck to you.

I have 4a hair but treat my sister's 4C hair our major issue is finding a good moisterizer. She has been natural for 2 years and The funny thing about 4C hair is its so coiled that its hard to see growth but keep treatment going before you know it you will have a big head full of coils. My sister hair is thriving. I love your hair type it is highly textured and beautiful.

As far as the thinning edges go try scalp oil treatment with castor oil,coconut oil,and peppermint oil mix and refrain from any style that put stress on your edges. HTH

@ ronnieaj my reasons for going natural is for healthier curls (which i have) however 4b in between length styling is frustrating n yes i was strongly considering going back to texturizing until i found carols daughter curl softener. So far so good so we will see what happens . I had about 4-5 inches in growth b4 i chopped.